Birthplace of George Wythe

George Wythe (ca. 1726-1806), Revolutionary leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was very likely born at his family's Chesterville Plantation, about seven miles north. He later inherited the property. Wythe served in the House of Burgesses, the Second Continental Congress, the House of Delegates, the U.S. Constitutional Convention, and Virginia’s convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution. He helped revise Virginia's laws in light of Revolutionary principles. A preeminent attorney and teacher of the law, his students included Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and Henry Clay. Wythe was judge of Virginia’s High Court of Chancery from 1778 until his death.